This project will be carried out by a postdoctoral fellow trained in Environmental Engineering and mentored by an environmental sociologist. The PI will study the permitting process for the Pebble Partnership 2013-2015, and the resulting scientific, policy, legal, and ethical controversies raised by the project.
The results will provide useful knowledge for science and technology studies and regulatory science.
Major goals of the project This research project examined the permitting process of newly proposed mines in Alaska and the key scientific, policy, legal and ethical debates raised by the stakeholders (key tribal communities and local groups, environmental groups, citizen scientists, legal representatives, state and federal agencies and policy experts in Alaska) on the large mine (hard rock and coal) permitting process. Following are the specific objectives within this goal: Evaluate the community contentions with the newly proposed mines. Examine the science that is shaped, discussed, debated and disputed during the permitting process to either oppose the mines or support the mines. Evaluate the legal disputes that have resulted from the scientific contentions. How were they addressed and settled. Explore the ethical discourses discussed and debated during the permitting process. How do policy makers debate risks and benefits related to permitting? Analyze the policy decisions made with respect to permitting of large mines. How are democratic practices upheld or limited in the permitting of industrial scale large mines in Alaska. Key Outcomes Completed 72 interviews with community leaders (tribal and local groups), environmental groups, scientists, legal representatives, State and Federal agencies, and companies doing the mining. Attended the Western Mining Action Network conference in Anchorage, Alaska. Established close working relationship with key community groups. Especially, Center for Science and Public Participation, who has been studying all the mines in Alaska since 1998. Taught a course on the changing Arctic Environment at the Program in Science and Technology at the Brown University Got a research position at the Arctic Institute of North America at the University of Calgary where I will get further guidance and resources to access and work with communities on the impacts of a range of resource extraction issues. Contributions to Science Technology and Society: This project will broaden STS by examining the scientific debates during permitting process. This project also reveals how democratic process and social understanding shape regulatory science, and industrial development that drive not only the economic and social growth in a state but also responsible and sustainable development that incorporates democratic decision making, protection of environment, and human health. Contributions to Government and Public Policy: Few studies have looked into the scientific, political and ethical controversies with regards to the permitting process for hard-rock mining. Permitting process demands more scholarly investigation as it is a crucial stage in any technological project development and public policy since many fundamental decisions are made on many controversial issues such as use of public resource, assessment of risks, need for development, contributions to society, and huge expenditures. This project eexamined how policy decisions are made regarding these contentious issues. This project promises to provide important new information on the regulatory challenges to mining pristine resource-rich habitats, and how regulatory decisions are made for large mine permits. International Relevance: This research is internationally relevant because mining in pristine areas around the globe is increasing to meet the ever-growing demand for mineral resources. With increased warming, arctic regions like Alaska and Greenland where the population still persist on subsistence living and where its economy is based largely on resource extraction are increasingly being sought after by mining companies to increase the global production of rare earths and minerals (Harvey 2012; Cramer 2012). Greenland recently passed a bill setting the framework for foreign mining and exploration companies to take advantage of the natural resources of the Arctic island and opening up for cheaper labor, including staff from China (Ringstrom et al. 2012). These mines are often large industrial mines which changes the economic and social structure of the region. The consequences of these developments have never been explored and this research offers valuable insight on how such project impacts the society and how the society in turn shapes the science and technological development in these regions. Education and Training Component: I designed a course on the Changing Arctic Environment: Science, Policy and Society in the fall of 2013. This course was accepted as part of the Spring 2014 Curriculum at the Program of Science Technology and Society at Brown University. Ten students enrolled in this seminar class, which was advertised just a week before the class started. The course was well received by the students and the department. It has increased discussions on campus on the many environmental challenges facing the arctic due to climate change and the increased developmental projects being considered as a result. I hope to engage an undergraduate or graduate research assistants on this project to help with literature review, interviews, data transcription and analysis.
